Jerauld County tornadoes on June 18, 2014

Multiple tornadoes occurred in Jerauld county during the evening of June 18, 2014 as supercell thunderstorms moved across the county. In many of these cases, the tornadoes that developed thankfully moved over open country thereby affecting the Fujita Scale rating. However, some of the tornadoes impacted farms resulting in a loss of outbuildings and livestock or poultry. In one location, the Spring Valley Colony, lost at least 10,000 turkeys as the tornado directly impacted one of their barns. The strongest tornado of these other tornadoes occurred west/southwest of Wessington Springs, SD where winds reached 130 mph as it moved through the farmstead. In all cases, tornado warnings were issued well in advance of the tornadoes allowing residents to seek shelter beforehand!

The Enhanced Fujita scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories.